06/01/2026
Do yourself a favour read this book, if you have not yet?!! Powerful Read. And really shows the food industries view on us and humans “stomach shares”🫣
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
Book by Michael Moss
Rating:
4/5
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Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us is a 2013 book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Moss that investigates how the processed food industry uses salt, sugar, and fat to create addictive products, maximizing profits at the expense of public health.
The book exposes the industry’s secretive practices, including using food science to hit a “bliss point,” marketing tactics adapted from the to***co industry, and the deliberate manipulation of ingredients to drive consumption, despite internal concerns about health consequences.
Key themes and revelations
The “Bliss Point”: Food scientists engineer products to hit a precise combination of salt, sugar, and fat that is maximally pleasurable, making them hard to stop eating.
Industry tactics: Companies use marketing and product reformulation (e.g., “low-fat” with high sugar) to deflect health concerns, similar to to***co companies.
Internal conflicts: Moss reveals how some industry insiders have voiced concerns about the health impact, but profit motives have prevailed.
Ubiquity of processed food: The book traces how these ingredients have come to dominate the modern diet, leading to widespread obesity and health issues.
Examples: It features case studies from major brands like Kraft, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, and Nestlé.
Impact and reception
The book was a New York Times bestseller and won the James Beard Foundation Award for Writing and Literature in 2014.
It is praised as a vital piece of investigative journalism that holds the food industry accountable and empowers consumers to understand the forces shaping their food choices.
